# Active vs passive review in Keeplet

Applies to: website and Android and iPhone app · Last updated: 2026-10-29

Keeplet has two ways to review a card: **passive** review, where you see the question, flip the card and give yourself a rating from 1 to 4 for how well you remembered it, and **active** review, a reorder exercise where you put the words of the answer back in order. Passive review is available on the website and in the Keeplet app for Android and iPhone; active review and the cloze exercise (hidden terms marked with `{{term}}`) exist only on the website.

## Passive review

In passive review:

1. You read the card's question.
2. You try to recall the answer, then reveal it (in the app with **Show the answer** or by tapping the card).
3. You rate yourself with four ratings. On the website they are **Not at all**, **A little**, **Somewhat**, **Great**; in the app they are **Not at all**, **A little**, **Fairly well**, **Perfectly**.
4. Keeplet uses the rating to calculate when to show you the card again, and under each rating it already tells you the due date.

It therefore depends on your honesty: nobody checks what you thought. On the other hand it is fast, good for short sessions or when you are out and about. It is the default mode on the website and the only one in the app. For app details see [How to review your cards every day in the app](/en/help/app/review-cards-every-day) and [How to rate a card: the four ratings](/en/help/app/rate-a-card).

## Active review (website only)

In active review, on the Keeplet website, you don't just recognize the answer: you rebuild it. It is a **reorder exercise**: the website takes the words of the answer (only those longer than 3 characters, at most 10), shuffles them, and you put them back in the correct order, then press **Confirm**. It is not available for texts with only one useful word.

The **cloze exercise** is different, and does not depend on the selector. If you have marked one or more terms in a card's text with the `{{term}}` syntax, the review hides the term and you try to recall it. If there is more than one term, each term is a step (for example "Term 1 of 3"). A card with cloze markers uses this exercise automatically, whichever mode you have chosen. After **Show the answer** you rate yourself with **Remembered** or **Didn't remember**.

You switch between modes with the **Active** / **Passive** selector at the top of the review screen, or with the **Tab** key. To create a cloze exercise see [How to create a cloze exercise in Keeplet](/en/help/web/create-a-cloze-exercise); for full usage see [Active and passive review mode in Keeplet](/en/help/web/active-and-passive-review-mode).

## Comparison

| | Passive | Active |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Website and app | Website only |
| What you do | Flip the card and rate yourself | Reorder the words of the answer |
| How you rate | Four ratings: **Not at all**, **A little**, **Somewhat** / **Fairly well**, **Great** / **Perfectly** (website / app) | Automatic: **Remembered** or **Didn't remember** depending on the order |
| Effort | Low | Higher |
| Limit | Depends on how honest your rating is | Takes more time and concentration |

In both cases the result updates the card's schedule with the SM-2 algorithm: see [The SM-2 algorithm in Keeplet](/en/help/concepts/sm2-algorithm-in-keeplet).

## Why active review is worth trying

Trying to produce an answer, rather than recognizing it, strengthens memory more than simply rereading: this is the so-called retrieval effect, described by Karpicke and Roediger in a paper published in *Science* in 2008. Passive review already contains some retrieval (you try to remember before flipping the card), but only if you really do it. Active review forces you to.

A sensible use: active review for definitions, precise wording and weak spots (for single terms use the cloze exercise); passive review to maintain what you already know and for quick sessions.

## What about the app?

The Android and iPhone app has only passive review: a card to flip and four ratings. It has neither the cloze exercise nor the reorder exercise. If you create a card with `{{term}}` placeholders on the website, the app does not interpret them as an exercise: review stays passive.

This does not change scheduling: cards and due dates are the same on both devices if you use the same account.

## How to choose between the two modes

- Start with passive if a card is new: you need to see its answer first.
- Switch to active when a card keeps coming back with **A little** or **Not at all**, or when you need to remember the exact order of a definition or a sequence.
- Stay on passive in short sessions or when you are out and about using the app.
- Whichever mode you choose, the benefit comes from regularity: [spaced repetition](/en/help/concepts/spaced-repetition) works if you review when the card is due.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I use active review from my phone?

From your phone's browser, yes, using the Keeplet website: active mode belongs to the website. Not in the Android and iPhone app.

### Which mode is better?

It depends on what you study. To fix sequences and precise wording, active is more demanding and more reliable; to keep many cards in memory in little time, passive is enough. You can alternate them in the same session, with the selector.

### Does the rating change if I review actively?

What changes is how you respond (**Remembered** / **Didn't remember** instead of the four ratings), not the algorithm: the result still updates the card's due date.

### How do I switch between modes on the website?

With the **Active** / **Passive** selector at the top or with the **Tab** key. A cloze card still uses the cloze exercise.

## Related articles

- [Active and passive review mode in Keeplet](https://keeplet.app/en/help/web/active-and-passive-review-mode)
- [How to create a cloze exercise in Keeplet](https://keeplet.app/en/help/web/create-a-cloze-exercise)
- [How to do a review session in Keeplet](https://keeplet.app/en/help/web/do-a-review-session)
- [How to review your cards every day in the app](https://keeplet.app/en/help/app/review-cards-every-day)
- [Spaced repetition explained with Keeplet](https://keeplet.app/en/help/concepts/spaced-repetition)
- [The SM-2 algorithm in Keeplet: intervals and ratings](https://keeplet.app/en/help/concepts/sm2-algorithm-in-keeplet)

Source: https://keeplet.app/en/help/concepts/active-and-passive-review